Two years on, does Obama’s election win still hold lessons for Ed Miliband’s Labour party, in austerity Britain?

Barack Obama’s uniquely participative 2008 campaign for the American presidency, prompted progressive parties around the world to learn new lessons. Now, after the rise of the radical right Tea Party movement, and Democrat setbacks at the 2010 American mid-terms, it is clear that liberals enjoy no monopoly on the combination of de-centralized grassroots activism and innovative technology. Nick Anstead and Will Straw update their previous advice to Labour on reviving the party by strengthening ‘low engagement’ contacts. Labour’s key challenge still remains to let go of its top-down, monolithic structures, in order to reach out to millions of new supporters and once again lead progressive politics in Britain.